CONNECTED BY THE POLITICS OF VALUES

By Nancy French 08 Oct 2006

When I noticed that the L.A. Times had another article about Gov. Romney’s faith, I cringed. How surprised I was to read Gregory Rodriguez’s article called, “It’s the Agenda, Stupid: A Mormon President? Why Not?”
He first explains what we all keenly know: Evangelicals believe Mormons are dead wrong on issues of faith. However, Rodriguez rightly goes on to say that theology and politics are two different balls of wax:

…when it comes to American politics, it seems clear that cultural affinity and a shared political agenda can trump theology. Evangelical activists, for instance, have joined forces with conservative Jews and Tibetan Buddhists on human rights issues such as sex trafficking and North Korean gulags.
Since the earliest days of their religion in the early 19th century, when they were openly persecuted, Mormons have cultivated both their distinctiveness and a greater acceptance by society at large. Indeed, the church’s decision to ban polygamy in the late 19th century was tied to its desire to have the Utah Territory accepted as a state. Once keen on establishing their own Zion in the West, over time Mormons became increasingly eager to integrate.
By the late 20th century, Mormons had developed a reputation for being as American as apple pie, even if their beliefs were way out of the mainstream. They also became loyal Republicans. As recently as this summer, Utah voters–two-thirds of whom are Mormon–gave President Bush the highest job-approval rating of any state.

The article addresses goes on to say that:

The conservative “values” agenda–anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, a shared vision of what constitutes America’s moral fiber–that connects each group to the GOP also links them to each other, at least politically.

Very interesting, in deed. This article echoes some of our thoughts regarding the issue, as many of you know.
On a side note, how about we go ahead and bury the whole, “It’s the ___________, Stupid!” That slogan/motto was annoying in 1992 when James Carville came up with it to help Clinton beat former President Bush, and it’s annoying now. So skip the headline,and read the article here.

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